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the Public U\ 



The Teaching of History 



IN THE 



PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



WITH REFERENCE TO 



War and Peace 



REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF THREE 

APPOINTED BY 

THE AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETY 



BOSTON 

AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETY 

1906 






PLEASE PRESERVE THIS FOR 
FUTURE USE. 



IT IS VERY DESIRABLE THAT THIS REPORT 
SHOULD BE PLACED IN THE HANDS OF AS 
MANY PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS IN THE 
SCHOOLS OF OUR COUNTRY AS POSSIBLE. 

Additional copies may be obtained at five 
cents each, or in quantities at the rate of 
three dollai-s per liundred, by addressing 

The American Peace Society, 
31 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 






The Teaching of History in the Public 

Schools of the United States with 

Special Reference to War 

and Peace. 



Keport of a Committee of Three appointed in accordance 
with the action of the Annual Meeting of the American Peace 
Society, May 18, 1905. 



Boston, Mass., April 3, 1906. 

To the Board of Directors of the American Peace 
Society : 

The Committee appointed by you in accordance with 
the action taken at the Annual Meeting of the Society 
on the 18th of May, 1905, " to ascertain and report upon 
the instruction given in History in the Public Schools of 
the United States with Special Reference to War, Battle, 
and Militarism," beg leave to submit the following 
Report : 

In the fall of 1905 we prepared, for transmission to 
the Superintendents of Public Schools, the series of in- 
quiries hereinafter set forth. These were sent from the 
office of the American Peace Society to the Superin- 
tendents in about three hundred cities and towns, each 
containing a population of ten thousand or more. We 
have received answers from one hundred and twenty-six 
of the superintendents so addressed. 



EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS ON UNITED 
STATES HISTORY. 

Your Committee, at an early date after their appoint- 
ment, began the examination of the school text-books on 
United States history with special reference to their 
treatment of war and peace. 

We found a large number of them. Some have been 
in use forty, fifty, and sixty years, while about a dozen 
new books have appeared since the year 1900. We have 
examined more than seventy both as to quantity and as 
to quality. 

The first point investigated was the number of pages 
devoted to war periods and the number given to periods 
of peaceful development. In this examination only the 
pages descriptive of military and naval operations are 
reckoned as war history. The discussion of causes and 
results is not included. 

Of the books used in the grammar grades, the first 
ten were published between the years 1843 and 1885. 
The percentage of historical matter devoted to the war 
periods, since the beginning of the French and Indian 
wars, in these ten books was as follows: 45.3, 44.1, 
42.4, 42.1, 41.9, 38.6, 38.2, 36.2, 33.7, and 33.7. Average 
39.6. The highest was 45.3, and the lowest 33.7, five 
books showing more than 40 per cent, of war history and 
five less than 40 per cent. This would seem to be giving 
about double the amount which the war periods ought 
to have received. 

The next ten books were published between the years 
1885 and 1897. The percentage of war history in these 
is as follows: 43.2, 39.3, 34.4, 28, 27.8, 25.4, 25.3, 22.8 
21.5, and 17. Average 28.5. Only one above 40 per 
cent., two between 30 and 40 per cent, and seven below 
30 per cent. The highest was 43.2 per cent, and the 
lowest 17 per cent. Here surely was a great gain. 



The third ten books, in the order of their publication, 
covering the period from 1890 to 1904, devoted to war 
history the following percentages : 35.2, 81.7, 31.2, 27.2, 
27.2, 25.2, 24.6, 24.6, 24, and 17.5. Average 26.8 per 
<3ent. Of these 35.2 was the highest and 17.5 the low- 
est. Only three were above 30 per cent, and one below 
20 per cent. 

The fourth and last list, including thirteen books, 
which were published between the years 1900 and 1906, 
shows an average as follows : 31.5, 31, 30, 29.5, 29.5, 29, 
*28.3, 25.5, 24.5, 22.2, 17.5, 12, and 11. Average 24.7 
per cent. The highest 31.5 per cent, and the lowest 11 
per cent. Three 30 per cent, or over, seven between 20 
and 30 per cent., and three less than 20 per cent. 

We have next to consider the so-called primary or ele- 
mentary books. Here we have twenty. 

The first ten were published between 1860 and 1S96. 
The war history in these is as follows: 50, 44.2, 41, 35, 
33, 30, 29, 18, 14, and 14. Average 31.4. The highest 
50 per cent, and the lowest 14 per cent. Three above 
40 per cent., three from 30 to 40 per cent., one between 
20 and 30 per cent., and three below 20 per cent. 

The second ten, published between 1896 and 1905, are 
averaged as follows for the war periods : 50, 46, 29, 26, 
25, 25, 24.5, 21, 11, and 11. Average 26.8 per cent. 
Highest 50 per cent., lowest 11 jjer cent. One at 50 
per cent., one between 40 and 50 per cent, six between 
20 and 30 per cent., and two below 20 j^er cent. 

Average of the total 63 different books, 29.5 per cent. 

The text-books mentioned above are used in the ele- 
mentary schools, but the history of our country is now 
studied in very many high schools and other institutions 
for secondary and higher education. We have exam- 
ined ten books used in these schools and find nearly the 
same average amount of war history as in the others. 



6 



The record of the ten is as follows : Percentage of war 
history, 34, 33.7, 29, 28, 25.3, 24.6, 24.5, 18, 17.5, 12. 
Average, 24.7. They have all been published since 
1885, and all but three within the last ten years. The 
tone of these books appears to be fully as good as that 
of those given in the table ; perhaps better. 

The statistics of the 63 books are tabulated as follows : 



Forty-three Grammar School 
Text-books 


Twenty 
Primary Books 


Highest and Lowest 














Per Cent. 


Oldest 
Ten 


Second 
Ten 


Third 
Ten 


Fourth 
Thirteen 


First 
Ten 


Ten 
Later 




45.3 


43.2 


35.2 


31.5 


50 


50 


2 at 50 


44.1 


39.3 


31.7 


31 


44.2 


46 


9 between 40 and 50 


42.4 


34.4 


31.2 


30 


41 


29 


16 " 30 " 40 


42.1 


28 


27.2 


29.5 


35 


26 


17 " 25 " 30 


41.9 


27.8 


27.2 


29.5 


33 


25 


9 " 20 " 25 


38.6 


25.4 


25.2 


29 


30 


25 


4 " 15 " 20 


38.2 


25.3 


24.6 


28.3 


29 


24.5 


6 " 10 " 15 


36.2 


22.8 
21.5 


24.6 
24 


25.5 
24.5 


18 
14 


21 
11 


• 


33.7 




33.7 


17 


17.5 


22.2 
17.5 
12.5 
11 


14 


11 


Highest, 50 
Lowest, 11 


Average 
39.6 


Average 
28.5 


Average 
26.8 


Average 
24.7 


Average 
30.8' 


Average 
26.8 


Average of 63 books 
29.5 



From this table it will be seen that the quantity of 
war material in the books has steadily diminished, the 
more recent books having but little more than half as 
much as those of half a century ago. Of the forty- 
three regular text-books mentioned above, the first ten 
had nearly 40 per cent, of war history, while the last 
ten averaged less than 23 per cent. 

This showing, we apprehend, is better than might 
have been anticipated. It apparently indicates that the 



public pulse has begun to beat in favor of peace and 
arbitration. Is it not also true that public sentiment 
has been lifted by the higher tone of the text-books? 

A change of public sentiment seems to be equally 
implied in the quality of the utterances in regard to 
war. Before entering upon the report of our examina- 
tion of these, we beg just here to suggest one or two 
considerations which show why the authors of these 
books have given so much space to wars. In the first 
place, it will be remembered that periods of war have 
usually been prominent epochs. Wars have manifestly 
produced great changes in national affairs. For illustra- 
tion, take the old French and Indian War, resulting in 
the treaty of 1763, whereby France was swept entirely 
off from North America. So the Mexican war brought 
to us New Mexico and California, and the Spanish War 
gave us Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands. Our 
Civil War preserved our territory intact, and set free 
millions of slaves. 

Certain industries have been broadened and activities 
increased by wars. In dealing with the teachings of his- 
tory all these have to be acknowledged. It seems to us, 
however, that while these points should be properly pre- 
sented in schools, on the other hand, the expensiveness 
of wars, the loss of property by wholesale destruction, 
the withdrawing of so many men for long periods from 
productive industries, the cruel sacrifice of human life, 
the turning loose upon the community of a host of dis- 
abled men, and the piling up of an enormous war debt 
and pension lists, — all these things should be properly 
portrayed in the school histories, but in most of the 
books thus far they have not been. 

It is obvious that another reason also has operated 
largely to amplify the accounts of wars and battles, in- 
cluding campaigns, strategies, and heroic deeds of all 



8 

sorts. Every teacher and every writer of school-books 
is fully aware that the first step in successful teaching 
must be to interest the pupil. Children are fond of 
stories of adventure. Thrilling tales and brave deeds 
always have a charm for them. Hence the temptation 
to dwell minutely and graphically upon the details of 
wars. It should, however, of course, be equally clear 
that in the hands of competent writers the lives of pio- 
neers, biographical incidents, stories of inventions, dis- 
coveries, achievement of success, and the full routine of 
life in times of peace may be made as interesting as the 
narrative of campaigns and battles. 

Here, then, is where the skillful writer, as well as the 
accomplished teacher, will have his greatest opportunity 
in the future. 

Apropos of this matter of text-books, we come now to 
the noting of things to be avoided, of which we find too 
many in the books, and of things to be commended, en- 
couraged, and imitated, of which we find too few. One 
of the older histories devotes more than thirty pages to 
the harrowing tales of the old Indian wars previous to 
1760. The same book uses more than a hundred pages 
of fine type, or more than twenty per cent, of the entire 
book, in telling the story of the American Revolution. 
It gives the bloody details of the battles, picturing bru- 
tal treatment with grewsome word pictures of savage 
cruelty. 

In several of these earlier books, perhaps in most of 
them, the causes of the American Revolution are scarcely 
dwelt upon, and these are given mostly by incidents told 
in such ways as to tend to create in the minds of young 
readers a real hatred of the English people. In many of 
the later books a different treatment is observed. The 
American theory is plainly set forth as differing funda- 
mentally from the views entertained by the British 



9 

Parliament. This difference is so often misunderstood, 
or ignored, that it may be worth while to state it here. 

The British theory was that Parliament had grown to 
be an imperial parliament which made laws for the whole 
empire. The American view was that they were British 
colonies, and loyal to the King, but that they were not 
subject to the laws of the British Parliament, for the rea- 
son that they were under governments of their own, in 
accordance with grants and charters from the King, 
which established in each colony its own parliament or 
law-making assembly. Hence they thought that the 
London Parliament had no right to tax the colonies. 
Moreover, it was a fact of great importance that a large 
proportion of the people of Great Britain, including 
many of the strongest statesmen, sympathized wholly 
with the colonists and denounced in strong terms the 
policy of Parliament. This fact is too generally over- 
looked in the earlier books, but is well stated in many of 
those more recently published, 

American teachers are so prone to forget or ignore 
this truth, that we may be pardoned for quoting from 
some of the important text-books now used in schools in 
England. They show unmistakably that the English 
view, in recent years at any rate, is more kindly towards 
America in relation to the Revolution than our text- 
books are towards the British government. In one of 
" The Royal English Readers Series," published by 
Thomas Nelson & Sons, we find the following: 

" It was not because the tax was large that the 
Americans were unwilling to pay it, for it was very 
small, but because they considered that the home gov- 
ernment had no right to tax them at all. The King was 
more to blame than any of his ministers. He would not 
give way in what he thought was his right as Sovereign 
of the colonies. . . . Chatham said to the Lords that it 
was folly to force taxes in the face of a continent in 



10 

arms. Burke bade the Commons take care lest they 
break that tie of kindred blood which, light as air, 
though strong as iron, bound the colonies to the mother 
land." 

In Edward Arnold's School Series, widely used in 
England, we find the following : 

" It has been well said that ' Time has long ago healed 
the wound caused by the original quarrel of the mother 
country and the daughter colonies ' ; and if there have 
sometimes been misunderstandings and suspicions engen- 
dered between England and the great Republic, by un- 
wise utterances or by unjust dealings of individuals, or 
of sections on both sides, the sound sense, the cordial 
feeling, the spirit of kinship, and the community of 
speech, of interests and of sympathies entertained by the 
great mass of both peoples have prevented threatened 
collision and strife. For England and America to go to 
war would be a calamity to the entire race. It would 
put back the hand of progress and would arrest the 
course of civilization, commerce, philanthropy, and re- 
ligion throughout the world." 

Another of these prominent English school histories 

says: 

"William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, had done all he 
could to make George III. and his Parliament see 
that it was not fair to tax the American colonists in 
order to pay for England's European wars. These wars 
had been of no use to them, and they wanted their 
money to defend themselves at home. If the King had 
been wise enough to follow Pitt's advice he would not 
have lost the colonies." 

Such quotations from the leading histories in use in 
the schools of Great Britain show conclusively that a 
spirit of goodwill prevails in that country towards us as 
a people, and that whatever faults we may find with the 
government of the mother country, whatever injuries we 
may believe she has inflicted upon us, of one thing we 
may be sure, that the English people to-day are warm 



11 



and stroDg in both their respect and their love for the 
people now inhabiting the country known at one time as 
English colonies in North America. 

The next item to be noted in this connection is the 
great improvement apparent in recent text-books over 
those of twenty-five to forty years ago in their treatment 
of our Civil War, Perhaps it was hardly within the 
range of possibilities that in the period immediately suc- 
ceeding that great conflict the relations could be very 
cordial between the people of the two sections ; and pos- 
sibly it was inevitable that the writers of this history 
should tinge the narrative with views of their own side. 
It is gratifying, however, to note the growing recogni- 
tion of the established fact that the two parties are to 
live side by side, that the interests of one section are also 
the interests of the other, and that every consideration 
of philosophy and of utility tells us that, as we are now 
brethren, we should dwell together in unity. Hence 
every writer of this portion of our history should feel 
impelled by all proper motives to avoid everything that 
alienates, and to make prominent all that tends to peace 
and unity. 

On the whole, we are much pleased to observe in looking 
over the accounts of this war in the more recent school 
books that, with only here and there an exception, each 
writer is evidently striving to state the facts in a kindly 
spirit and to emphasize the things that make for peace. 

In all the discussions of wars it seems to your commit- 
tee better that causes and results should be emphasized 
and that battles should not be described in such fullness 
as is found in many of the books. The clear aim should 
be to avoid fostering the spirit of militarism and to cul- 
tivate rather the disposition to settle all international 
difficulties, not by force and violence, but by the modern 
method of arbitration. 



12 

A question may arise as to what shall be substituted 
in place of the details of war which may be omitted from 
our future text-books and future teaching of history. 
The answer is quite obvious. Our country has had a 
rapid growth, and our advancement has been unprece- 
dented in the lines of invention, in all the industries, in 
education, literature, the useful arts, the fine arts, benev- 
olent institutions, the rights of women and children, law, 
government, and morals. The reports of our patent 
office show our progress in inventions. Sixty years ago 
this office issued from four hundred to six hundred 
patents annually. In one year, now, it has issued more 
than twenty-five thousand. In 1840 its receipts were 
138,000; its annual income now is |1,8'25,000. Atten- 
tion might well be called to the development of our 
agricultural machinery ; to the improved steam-plow 
and machines for planting, hay-making, and harvesting. 
Seventy-five years ago it required, to raise one bushel of 
wheat, three hours labor of the farmer; now it needs 
only ten minutes. In market-gardening, in the shoe in- 
dustry, in the products from india-rubber, in the applica- 
tion of steam power and of electric power, such advance 
has been made as to astonish the world. All these will 
require more and more space in the books every year. 
So in the other directions named above. In all text- 
books on the history of our country, space should 
be found to tell of the growth of our system of pub- 
lic schools, of the rapid advancement and liberal en- 
dowment of our colleges, of the uplift of the people 
through the many charitable and philanthropic move- 
ments, the advances in law, morals, and the rights of 
man, and, in general, of the intellectual and moral im- 
provement of society at large. A valuable treatise for 
colleges on " The Industrial History of the United 
States " has lately appeared, which is, doubtless, a 



13 

forerunner of others which will follow. This line of 
thought indicates a wide circle of useful and interest- 
ing information to be more and more inserted in our 
school histories. 

It may be too soon to expect authors and teachers fully 
to appreciate the importance of the movement which has 
produced the Hague Tribunal, and which is to bring the 
second Hague Conference and the proposed International 
Congress, but the leaven is working and the most recent 
text-books are mentioning these remarkable movements 
as indicative of a rapidly growing drift of feeling and 
public opinion looking and working toward the peace of 
the world. Patriotism, that is, love of one's own coun- 
try, is commendable, but the sentiment of brotherhood 
of the human race, which looks toward the federation 
of the world, is beginning to be regarded as a virtue 
still higher and holier. 

EXAMINATION OF HISTORY COURSES, AND METHODS OF 

INSTRUCTION. 

Your Committee sent the following questions to three 
hundred Superintendents of schools in cities and towns 
of ten thousand or more inhabitants : 

1. In what grade or grades of your schools is United States 
history taught ? Estimated average age, in each grade, of the 
pupils in that branch ? 

2. What periods of history are most dwelt upon in each 
grade ? 

3. In each grade what is the number of weeks devoted to 
United States history? Number per week of its lessons, 
lectures, or exercises ? 

4. As compared with the whole time given to United States 
history, what approximately is the proportionate amount spent 
on war and battle ? 

5. Is the instruction given orally or by text-book lessons, 
or in both ways ? If in both ways, what is the relative amount 
of the oral ? If by text-book, what book or books ? If more 
than one, which is most used ? 



14 



6. What supplementary reading, if any, on the subject, is 
required ? In which grade or grades ? In what books ? 

7. What reference books, if any, are recommended and ac- 
cessible to the pupils ? 

8. What is the relative emphasis laid upon the use of each 
of these three classes of books ? 

9. Kindly send us, if you have them, printed lists showing 
in each grade your course of study in United States history, 
the history books used, and the direction or suggestions to 
teachers of history, 

10. Please comment over your signature, from the point of 
view of war and peace, upon this subject of United States 
history as taught in the public schools, with suggestions or 
criticisms as to books and methods. Your name will not be 
used without your permission. 

11. Has the 18th of May, the anniversary of the opening of 
the Hague Conference, through which the Permanent Inter- 
national Tribunal of Arbitration was established, yet been 
observed with appropriate exercises in your schools, empha- 
sizing the practicability and the importance of arbitration as 
an honorable means of avoiding war ? 

These questions were asked with these four ends in 
view : To find out the importance of the text-book ; to 
ascertain the relative influence of the teacher; to dis- 
cover the proportionate amount of time spent on war 
and battle ; and to gain a general outlook with regard to 
the teaching of war and peace. 

The importance of the foregoing examination of text- 
books is measured by the use made of books. It is 
impossible to determine their exact influence, inasmuch 
as many courses of study provide also for supplementary 
reading and the use of reference books. To study these 
and arrive at definite conclusions from their contents 
was hardly practicable. We have, however, carefully 
examined all the history courses sent by superintendents 
from one hundred and twenty-six cities and towns. We 
find that in all these, except three, supplementary and 
reference books in history are provided for. As to the 



15 



relative emphasis placed on the three classes, — text- 
books, supplementary reading, and reference books — 
seven superintendents answer that it depends wholly on 
the teacher ; six state that the greatest emphasis is placed 
on supplementary reading and reference books ; eleven 
estimate that the three classes receive each an equal 
amount of attention. The great majority, however, make 
the text-book the basis of their work. 

Aside from the influence of supplementary reading 
and reference books, and the much greater influence of 
text-books, we think that the views and attitude of the 
individual teacher are after all the most important factor 
in determining the character of history teaching. Of 
course, if so many pages are assigned for a lesson, the 
history learned will be that of the book. We find, how- 
ever, by a scrutiny of the courses of study and the direc- 
tions which superintendents give to teachers, that this 
method of teaching is now comparatively little used. If, 
on the other hand, the teacher takes up the subjects by 
topics, — and this method seems to be very general, — 
the instruction will be colored with the teacher's ideas 
and sentiments. Especially will this be the case when 
he arranges the topics from more than one text-book, or 
from supplementary and reference books. In the eleven 
localities where the superintendents state that the three 
classes of books receive an equal amount of attention, 
and in the six where they estimate that the greatest 
emphasis is placed on supplementary and reference books 
the history learned is probably determined in the main 
by the teacher's point of view. This is obviously the 
case where the superintendents report that the relative 
use of books depends wholly on the teacher. 

It must not be forgotten that the introduction to 
history is made long before the child begins the regular 
study. Our examination of history courses shows that 



16 



sixteen provide for the regular study in the fourth grade 
twenty-nine in the fifth, twenty-three in the sixth, thirty- 
three in the seventh, six in the eighth, and two^ in the 
ninth. The remainder of the hundred and twenty-six 
provide for a continuous study from the first year in 
school. In all these cases, however, there is a prelimi- 
nary stage where the teacher is the predominating factor ; 
he is the text-book. The selection of biography and 
historical stories and the general impression that the 
child receives are all governed by the teacher's interpre- 
tation. His views and sentiments become those of the 
child. If, then, we could determine the exact sentiments 
of the teacher, we should have an almost sure basis for 
determining the character of the instruction in this pre- 
liminary period. In all stages, however, his point of 
view is the key. 

While we realize that it is impossible to discover this 
in every case, we have endeavored to gain some general 
knowledge of it by getting at the sentiments of the 
superintendents, and this in two ways : By examining 
courses of study prepared by them, and by asking them 
certain direct questions concerning the instruction. In- 
asmuch as many of the courses of study are meagre and 
offer little direction to the teacher, and inasmuch as the 
freedom of the teacher to interpret them varies materially 
in the different school systems where the superintendent's 
have made full and suggestive outlines, we feel that this 
examination does not give an exact reflex of the teacher's 
ideas ; nor will the answers of the superintendents indi- 
cate them with certainty. Yet, after examining the text- 
books, the courses of study and the statements made by 
superintendents, we think we have a fair basis for de- 
termining the relative influence of at least the average 
teacher. We do not assume to have any knowledge of 
the exceptional or special teacher. 



17 

As to the proportionate amount of time spent on war 
bistory in these hundred and twenty-six cities and towns, 
we find that it varies much, two-thirds of the history 
time being the highest and one-fortieth the lowest. Two 
superintendents report two-thirds ; one, one-half ; four, 
one-third; eight, one-fourth; nine, one-fifth; five, one- 
sixth; nine, one-tenth; one, one-twentieth; and one, 
one-fortieth. Thirty-one say that very little time is spent ; 
:five, that no emphasis is laid on war and battle ; seven, 
that only the causes and results are emphasized ; six, 
that less time than formerly is spent on wars; fourteen, 
that the text-books indicate the proportionate amount ; 
six, that it depends on the teacher. " Impossible to esti- 
mate," — " no data," — " cannot tell," — are the answers 
of a few. One says, " Don't care. Don't teach history 
that way. Teach it to make good, patriotic citizens with 
red corpuscles." 

To gain a general outlook with regard to the teaching 
of war and peace has seemed to us especially important. 
To acquire this information we asked the superintendents 
for their opinions ; and through these expressions, more 
than in any other way, we are able to judge of the real 
instruction given. Moreover, we can, with some definite- 
ness, determine to what extent arbitration as a substitute 
for war has been officially recognized by teachers. It 
is reasonable to suppose that those who have arranged 
exercises for the observance of the 18th of May, the 
anniversary of the opening of the Hague Conference, 
which established the permanent International Court of 
Arbitration, will be governed more or less in their teach- 
ing by the sentiments taught through these anniversary 
exercises. 

The full tabulation of answers to the tenth and eleventh 
questions would be especially illuminating, but the space 
required for it would be too large for incorporation 



18 

in this report. Seventy-three think that less emphasis 
should be placed on war; twelve believe that war 
should be taught in order to develop loyal, patriotic 
citizens ; five are in sympathy with the movement against 
war, and ask for information on the subject; four say 
that the text-books should be rewritten, giving war a 
subordinate place ; and thirty-one make no comments. 

One says: "There are worse things than war." An- 
other, " War, battle and adventure arouse patriotism." 
Another, " We should teach history as it is, and not as 
some supersensitive people might wish it to have been.'' 
Another, "I prefer peace, but not an ignoble peace." 
Another, "A proper study of the heroic parts of war 
will do no harm." 

Thirty-five have written extensive comments. For the 
purpose of showing the general outlook, typical speci- 
mens of their opinions should perhaps be embodied in 
this report. 

"I think," writes one, "that the tendency of the 
schools and text-books to condense the treatment of war 
is a wise one, but rather because the influence of war in 
social development has been overrated in the past. I 
have not until recently allowed as a factor in forming^ 
my opinion the malign influence on the pupil involved 
in the emphasis on wars and battles. I am very largely 
in accord with the advanced views for which your 
Society stands. Nevertheless, I do not understand how 
we can exclude altogether the treatment of matters 
relating to war. We would not only have an incom- 
plete view of the factors which have made our present 
civilization, or, if you please, have retarded it, but we 
would miss the opportunity of enforcing such virtues as 
patriotism, courage, loyalty, etc. I am not so foolish as 
to think there is no way of enforcing these virtues ex- 
cept by considering their exemplification in war, but 



19 

they have been exemplified in war and I do not wish to 
lose the brilliant illustration from that quarter. For in- 
stance, I do not wish to strike out Arnold or Nathan 
Hale from the child's knowledge." 

Another tells us : " Children should know that there 
are rights worth fighting for, and be made to feel that 
they are ready to be called on at any time to fight for 
a just cause, but not to desire war for the sake of glory 
or self-aggrandizement." 

The following is interesting: "I do not believe that 
war is over emphasized in our schools. The tendency is 
to minimize it as much as possible. Do you think that 
this is the best time to emphasize arbitration? Is the 
child ready for such altruism ? " 

" I think," says another, « the military spirit is not to 
be discouraged in the patriotic sense. Dishonorable 
peace is to be shunned as worse than war." 

Another concurs as follows : " The American youth 
should be taught to be patriotic. There is but one way 
to teach patriotism, and that is by teaching American 
history. Moralizing is utterly useless, and children can 
see the right and wrong of things for themselves if 
properly taught. The doctrine that the surest way to 
secure peace is to be prepared for war is not a bad one." 

Per contra take this: "I discourage much emphasis 
laid on war and battles, — try to have my teachers show, 
for instance, the real inwardness of the cause of the 
Revolution, in which the pig-headed and half-imbecile 
George III. had most to do — endeavor to induce them 
to encourage friendship with all nations, especially with 
Britain, and to laud all efforts for education, for art, 
science and literature." 

" I feel very strongly," says one prominent superin- 
tendent, " that in the teaching of history in elementary 
schools, secondary schools and colleges, the emphasis 



20 



should be placed upon the arts, industries and social 
conditions. In other words, peace, rather than war, 
should receive the great amount of attention. I feel 
that the books on history as now used, especially in the 
secondary schools and colleges, must be largely rewritten 
from the standpoint of the social and industrial develop- 
ment of the race. I am glad to say that a special effort 

is made in to lay the emphasis upon the arts of 

peace rather than upon the art of war." 

In regard to the observance of the 18th of May, we 
find that it has been celebrated in ten places ; in ninety- 
three not at all ; in five it has been noticed to some ex- 
tent ; twenty superintendents say that it will be observed 
this year ; three give no answer. One reports " no," and 
adds that " the connected work of the public schools is 
already sufficiently broken up by ' special days.' " 

Your Committee are strongly of the opinion that this 
anniversary should take its place alongside of the other 
epoch-making days in the world's history, and as such 
should receive a fitting observance. Every child should 
know that on the 18th of May, 1899, at the call of the 
Czar of Russia, representatives from twenty-six of the 
most important nations of the globe came together for 
the first time in history for the purpose of adopting 
measures for " the maintenance of general peace, and 
a possible reduction of the excessive armaments which 
weigh upon all nations." 

Every student of history should know that since the 
Jay Treaty in 1794, between the United States and 
Great Britain, nations have been, with increasing fre- 
quency, settling their differences by arbitration, until the 
system has become generally common among them ; that 
the movement has culminated in the Hague Court, a tri- 
bunal to which any nation can submit its international 
controversies; that, although the Hague Convention did 



21 

not pledge any nation to refer disputes to this Court, 
since that time no less than forty treaties have been 
signed whereby the signatory powers make such a pledge ; 
that, entering on its great career in May, 1902, it has 
already settled four disputes, involving the greatest na- 
tions of the world, thereby showing its ability to fulfill 
the functions for which it was established ; that the public 
opinion of the world is more and more forcing the na- 
tions to take their differences to it for peaceful adjust- 
ment. It should be known, at least to the older pupils 
in the schools, that in the course of the current year the 
representatives of some forty-six nations are to meet in 
a second peace conference for the purpose of continu- 
ing the work so auspiciously begun ; that proportion- 
ate, simultaneous reduction of armaments, whereby vast 
amounts of money and vast numbers of men, now in 
readiness for brutal destruction, may be freed for con- 
structive work, is again one of the subjects proposed to 
come before this body ; that a general arbitration treaty, 
rendering war practically impossible, is another topic on 
Its program ; that a commanding place will probably be 
given the proposition to create a permanent international 
congress, which shall meet at regular intervals to study 
systematically the international problems that are always 
before the world,— the problems in industry, education, 

religion, science, philanthropy and government, 

and that this congress when established will be 
the legislative complement of the Hague Court. The 
18th of May will not receive a fitting observance in the 
schools unless the fact is made clear that all this has 
been the outcome of the " first peace congress," and of 
the great world-movement which caused it to be held. 
The foregoing investigation shows that the schools 
have begun to celebrate this day, and the following ad- 
mirable letter of Hon. George H. Martin, Secretary of 



22 



the Massachusetts State Board of Education, sent out in 
April of last year to each superintendent in the State^ 
as also a similar letter addressed by the State Superin- 
tendent of Instruction in Ohio to the superintendents in 
that Commonwealth, indicates that the meaning of the 
day has begun to be properly interpreted : 

IN THE SERVICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH. 
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

State House, Boston, April 11, 1905. 
Superintendent of Schools, 

Mass. 

Bear Sir : A statute whicli has made the school laws of 
Massachusetts famous for more than a century imposes 
upon all instructors of youth the obligation to use their 
best endeavors to instill into the minds of the children and 
youth committed to their care the principles of "love of 
country, humanity and universal benevolence." 

It has become a general practice in schools to stimulate 
the love of covintry by special exercises in connection with 
the public holidays, February 22, April 19, and May 30. 

A favorable opportunity to cultivate the other two virtues, 
"humanity and universal benevolence," is now afforded in the 
setting apart of the 18th of May in commemoration of the 
Hague Conference, May 18, 1899. This day is to be widely 
celebrated in Europe and by numei'ous organizations in 
America. 

The Board of Education recommends that appropriate 
exercises be held in the schools of Massachusetts on May 
IS for the purpose of emphasizing the blessings of peace, 
of showing the superiority of arbitration over war, and of 
exalting the brotherhood of nations. 

Such exei'cises might profitably include brief accounts of 
the settlement of recent international disputes by arbitration, 
together with quotations, readings and recitations concerning 
peace from the writings of Washington, Sumner and other 
statesmen, and from the poems of Holmes, Lowell and 
Whittier. 

An appropriate motto for the day would be : " God hath 
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the- 
face of the earth." 

Very truly yours, 
(Signed) George H. Martin, 

Secretary. 



23 

We wish to suggest that in order to raake the anni- 
versary generally noticed in a proper manner, a program 
of suitable graded exercises should be prepared and made 
available for the teachers in all schools. 

We could wish that the sentiments for which the day 
stands might be taught to children every day in the year ; 
that all teaching might be permeated with the ideas of 
justice, reason, love and goodwill. 

The teachers of the United States must become more 
active in this direction if they would keep pace with 
their co-workers across the water, who have so far sur- 
passed them in an active campaign for peace teaching. 
The Association of French Public School Teachers, 
numbering many thousands in its membership, has de- 
clared as a body its intention to teach the ideas of 
peace. The International Congress of Public School 
Teachers, held recently in Europe with representatives 
from eighteen nations, passed resolutions to the effect 
that the principles of peace should permeate all teaching, 
and that the history of the wars of conquest should 
be supplanted by the history of the great constructive 
workers of the world. The International Students' 
Congress, at its last meeting, passed two resolutions : 
1. That a propaganda of peace be established which 
should encompass the whole world, 2. That peace clubs 
be formed in all universities. This body also appointed 
a committee to present these resolutions to the different 
governments of the world. 

We should be glad to see the teachers of the United 
States, citizens of a country which is the home of the 
first peace society in the world, take the lead in a united 
stand against war. There is no turning back in this 
onward development ; but the rapidity of the evolution 
will depend on direct effort. Surely the American 
teachers ought to be in the van of this movement, 
destined to uplift the whole human race! 



24 



GENEEAL OBSERVATIONS. 

In view of the results of these examinations, your 
Committee, not caring to comment on the adverse senti- 
ments expressed in some quarters, nor upon the fact that 
from a majority of the cities and towns so addressed no 
response has been received, beg to suggest that although 
upon the whole great progress has been made in the 
right direction in recent years, yet with some superin- 
tendents, and presumably with most teachers, the view- 
point of events ought to be elevated and the horizon 
broadened ; and since the spirit in which the instruction 
is imparted is of more importance than the exact details, 
we would also suggest that the following principles 
should be clearly borne in mind in the teaching of 
history : 

1. That all men, of whatever race, country, or stage 
of civilization, are brethren, and entitled to be treated by 
one another as children of one Father and members of 
a common family. 

2. That the nations are sister nations; and as kindly 
a spirit should always prevail in their dealings with each 
other as between members of the same family. 

3. That when a good motive can reasonably be 
assigned for an apparently hostile action on the part of 
another, whether a man or a nation, it is a duty to impute 
such proper motive rather than a conscious intention to 
inflict injury wrongfully. It is therefore more honorable 
in such cases to exercise patient forbearance than to give 
way to quick and violent resentment. 

4. That in war, as in private dueling, one party is 
always in the wrong, usually both ; and the immediate 
result of the conflict never decides which is in the right, 
if either ; nor does it tend to vindicate the honor of either 
to make haste to shed blood or seize or destroy property. 

5.- That the maxim, "My country, right or wrong!" 



25 

as too often interpreted, is false and dangerous, and 
may become, to use the language of Chief Justice Jay, 
" treason to liberty, justice, and humanity, and rebellion 
against God." 

6. That the kind of patriotism which would aggran- 
dize one country at the expense of another is but a form 
of selfishness or even criminality. 

7. That whatever be thought of the maxim, "In 
time of peace prepare for war," it should not be forgotten 
that immense military and naval armaments continually 
suggest resort to violence as the proper method of secur- 
ing justice and maintaining rights. 

8. That whether we have or have not a right to dis- 
regard, as the soldier in battle always must, the com- 
mand of the Founder of Christianity to love our enemies ; 
and whether it be true or not, as Franklin repeatedly 
affirmed, that " there was never a good war or a bad 
peace," — there are, in the historical treatment of war, 
aside from the ethics primarily involved, certain con- 
siderations that should ever be remembered : among 
them the tendency in protracted warfare to military 
despotism ; the enormous loss of productive industry 
by the withdrawing of multitudes from field and work- 
shop ; the destruction of valuable property ; the expen- 
diture of immense sums that might have been made 
useful in works of beneficence ; an incalculable amount 
of disease, pain and prolonged misery — distress caused 
not to the guilty few, but to the innocent many ; the 
infliction of more injustice often than is either prevented 
or remedied ; and the bitterness engendered in each 
warring people against the other, making the victorious 
aggressive and the defeated revengeful, thus sowing the 
seeds of future wars. 

9. That the truest heroism is not physical but moral, 
as when one dares to stand alone for the right and 



26 



chooses to suffer loss, ridicule and obloquy, rather than 
be the partner in wrong-doing ; that the humblest deed 
of daring and self-sacrifice for the good of others is 
glorious ; that " he that ruleth his spirit is better than he 
that taketh a city " ; and that the only contest between 
nations should be in the effort to outdo each other in 
promoting the welfare of mankind, 

10. That since in all conflicts each party believes 
itself in the right and neither can be an impartial judge, 
however it may have been in past ages when there was 
no umpire for the adjudication of international disputes, 
there is now no longer any excuse for a hasty resort 
to force, or for a foolish persistence in fighting to the 
death ; for there not only exists a great tribunal, the 
Court of The Hague, recognized the world over and 
proved by experience to be a proper forum for the in- 
vestigation and peaceful arbitrament of controversies 
before the outbreak of war, but the signatory powers 
that established it have also distinctly agreed that any 
one of them should have " the right of tendering its good 
offices or mediation " between contending states at any 
stage in the course of hostilities, and that "the exercise 
of this right can never be considered by either of the 
disputing parties as an unfriendly act." 

11. Finally, that it is the duty of all that teach and 
all that study history to gain a proper perspective ; to 
lift themselves and others above the standpoint of mere 
selfish interests; to recognize that history in its true 
meaning is not the annals of war and bloodshed, but 
the record of the development of pacific civilization, 
of religion, of education, of law, of industry, of com- 
merce, of science, of invention, of art, of language, of 
social and political institutions ; to observe the trend of 
events toward the fulfillment of the prophecy that ulti- 
mately " nation shall not lift up sword against nation " ; to 



27 

endeavor to disarm opposition and overcome indifference 
in this movement to magnify peace and minimize war ; 
and to contribute all possible effort to secure in the near 
future a realization of the poet's vision of » The Parlia- 
ment of Man: the Federation of the World," which 
shall be the safe guardian of national rights, the per- 
petual guarantor of international peace. 

Your Committee therefore respectfully suggest for 
your consideration the propriety of making an earnest 
appeal to superintendents and teachers and to the writers 
of histories to utilize every suitable opportunity for 
inculcating in the minds of children and youth the prin- 
ciples herein set forth and for giving them information in 
regard to the successive steps in this great evolution- 
and particularly that they be urged to make the most of 
the 18th of May as an anniversary dedicated to the dif- 
fusion and the fostering of the sentiment of the Univer- 
sal Brotherhood of Man, the Universal Sisterhood of 
Nations. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Homer B. Speague, Chairman. 
Fanny Fern Andrews, 
William A. Mowry, 

Committee. 



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